Sports

BOSTON PUBLIC RADIO

3:52 pm

Wed July 29, 2015

Wrestler Dwayne Johnson -- better known as The Rock -- was the target of a racist tirade by wrestler Hulk Hogan. Hogan's comments were revealed this week. Medical ethicist Art Caplan applauded the WWE's swiftness responding to the situation.

Are the risks from concussions and head trauma overblown? That's what a study published in February seemed to say. Boston Public Radio hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan talked to medical ethicist Art Caplan on Wednesday about the concussion debate, the hits pro athletes rack up over their careers, and about how the sometimes-maligned WWE has moved to protect its athletes and discourage racism in its ranks.

George Mumford was a basketball talented who sidelined by an injury, used painkillers a little too much, and went looking for new ways to get his mind right. What he found was meditation. Mumford practiced "mindfulness" as a way to deal with pain, clear out nagging thoughts, and zero in on the important aspects of his life.

Along the way Mumford got good at teaching mindfulness. He was so good, in fact, that former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson enlisted him to help stars like Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan perform at an elite level. When Jackson moved to the L.A. Lakers, Mumford instructed that team's stars — Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

George Mumford was a basketball talented who sidelined by an injury, used painkillers a little too much, and went looking for new ways to get his body and mind right. What he found was meditation. Mumford practiced mindfulness as a way to deal with pain, clear out nagging thoughts, and zero in on the important things in life.

Along the way Mumford got good at teaching mindfulness. He was so good, in fact, that former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson enlisted him to help stars like Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan perform at an elite level. When Jackson moved to the L.A. Lakers, Mumford instructed that team's stars — Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

BOSTON PUBLIC RADIO

3:18 pm

Mon June 29, 2015

Charlie Sennottjoins Jim and Margery to unfold the Greek Euro crisis, and the Obama Administration's walk-back on hostages, plus how the Supreme Court's marriage decision might effect the rest of the Globe.

With the world celebrating PRIDE this month, Charlie Sennottjoins us for his take on Global gay rights, the Pope’s environmental encyclical and the Pentagon’s push to put heavy weaponry in Eastern Europe. >>Read more here.

Medical ethicist Art Caplan joined Boston Public Radio on Wednesday for his regular segment "Ask the Ethicist." Caplan talked about libido-stimulating drugs, abortion training for physicians, and whether the Red Sox should pay the medical bills of the woman hit in the face with a broken bat.

We open our show with David Norris, Irish Senator and gay and civil rights activist responsible for decriminalizing homosexuality in Ireland and paved the way for last week's referendum legalizing same-sex marriage. >>Read more here.

Medical ethicist Art Caplan joined Boston Public Radio for his weekly segment "Ask the Ethicist." Caplan looked at the future of boxing as interest wanes and the action remains just as brutal. He also talked about using head protection in sports, an injection to get rid of double chins, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta's operation on an 8-year-old earthquake victim in Nepal.

Many people are finally digging in to do their taxes this weekend, we check in with you to see if you'd cheat, if you could?

Then Shira Springer weighs in with us about NFL's decision to finally hire its first female ref, the beginning of baseball season, and Preview of Boston Globe Magazine, which is all Olympics. Then we talk to you about Olympics developments. What can Boston 2024 do to convince you?

LOCAL NEWS

7:00 pm

Thu April 2, 2015

Today there were major developments in three global hotspots: the nuclear agreement in Iran, a horrific attack on a university in Kenya., and a big blow struck against ISIS. Our global caucus, made up of some of the top international experts in the region, takes up all those issues. Jim Walsh (@DrJimWalshMIT) is an international security researcher at MIT, Boston University Professor Farouk El-Baz worked for years at NASA and as an advisor to Egypt's presidents, and Jessica Stern (@JessicaEStern) lectures about terrorism at Harvard and recently co-authored "ISIS: The State of Terror."

With so much focus on the mental health of the Germanwings co-pilot, we look to set the record straight on the facts of depression with National Alliance on Mental Illness Medical Director Dr. Ken Duckworth and Harvard Medical School Associate Professor of Psychiatry Dr. Nancy Rappaport.

Over the past several years, telescopes have been picking up mysterious radio wave flashes, apparently from far outside our galaxy. Some scientists are seriously asking whether they might be from some sort of out-of-this-world technology. Kelly Beatty (@NightSkyGuy), senior editor at Sky and Telescope magazine, assured us that it's not aliens.

College basketball’s Final Four tips off this weekend. Jim look at the real March Madness: how success on the court is surely not matched with success in the classroom, and the schools seem not to care.

BOSTON PUBLIC RADIO

3:25 pm

Thu March 26, 2015

The notion of so-called 'microhousing' has been brewing in Boston's cramped city limits for a while now, so we get your take: Is this a practical modern approach to housing, or simply dorm rooms for millennials?

ThenKara Miller checks in with robots as writers. Are we moving from gonzo to gizmo journalism? [20:56]

Secretary of Education, James Peyser, stops by for his inaugural interview.

Boston Public Radio Podcast

3:28 pm

Mon March 16, 2015

GBH news analyst Charlie Senott, who also heads up The GroundTruth Project, goes over international headlines, from tomorrow's election in Israel to the Obama administration's decision to slow down the withdrawal of U.S.

Charlie Sennottweighs in on the real identity of "Jihadi John" and his path from London schoolboy to executioner. He discusses Netanyahu's upcoming speech before Congress, and the complicated Israeli politics that produced such a tense situation.

The Charles River is frozen solid, and the annual Head of the Charles crew race feels far away in this cold. But thousands of rowers from all over the world were in Boston this weekend anyway.

On the huge floor of the Agannis Arena at Boston University, about 30 men dressed in spandex sit side-by-side on stationary rowing machines, waiting. Behind them are two other groups, also about to start.

“Everybody pick up your handles. The starting commands will appear on your monitor. There is no audio command.”

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh is defending the decision to hold a parade for the New England Patriots on Wednesday even though the city is still in process of removing mountains of snow and the MBTA is experiencing weather-related service problems.

Walsh said Tuesday that many people have suggested delaying the parade until Saturday. He says that's not feasible because by the weekend the players will have scattered.

Bob Thompson gives you his thoughts on Super Bowl, it's ratings, advertisements, and halftime show. He also weighs in on the hazards of binge viewing. Then we see what you think? Is there anything wrong with curling up to a good show?

BEAT THE PRESS

5:46 pm

Fri January 30, 2015

When last we left Deflategate, the mystery over how 11 of 12 Patriots footballs wound up underinflated during the AFC championship, things were looking bleak. A jury of journalists and former quarterbacks had tried and convicted the hometown team, but then a funny thing happened: a plausible explanation appeared.

LOCAL NEWS

6:22 pm

Thu January 29, 2015

This weekend, the biggest football game in the world will be played in Glendale, Arizona. The very first Super Bowl was played in 1967. But the sport itself has a much longer and storied history. In fact, it’s a Boston group that’s considered by many historians as the first organized football club in the United States. They were known as the Oneida Football Club.